Human Heart

"Human Heart" (stylised as "") is a song by Coldplay from their ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres (2021). It is the sixth track on the album and features R&B sister duo We Are King and British musician Jacob Collier. On the concept of the album, the track represents Supersolis, the sixth celestial body on the The Spheres solar system.

Background[]

According to Chris Martin, "Human Heart" started when he sent a demo of the song to Jacob Collier, to which Collier replied back by sending seventeen tracks with different harmonies. Will Champion did not like the second verse of the song when Chris showed him the new version and suggested repeating the first verse with a female perspective instead.^[1] Phil Harvey revealed that We Are King members — sisters Paris and Amber Strother — joined the track after being introduced to the band by Denise Carite, a member of The Love Choir.

Composition[]

The song was described as “a minimal, vocally driven gospel-tinged track” featuring Chris duetting with American R&B vocal girl duo We Are King.^[2] It also features guest vocals from English singer Jacob Collier, who worked previously with Coldplay on the songs "Church", "Cry Cry Cry" and "Everyday Life", from Everyday Life (2019).

"Human Heart" is the third out of five tracks on the album to have its title stylised as an emoji; the others are: "Music of the Spheres", "Alien Choir", "Music of the Spheres II", and "Infinity Sign".

Live performances[]

On 22 May 2021, day of the band's performance on Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, a newsletter e-mail was sent reminding people about the avaibility of tickets for the concert, and stating that “a mix of classic songs, plus an epic performance of "Higher Power" and perhaps the odd surprise” was expected for that night.^[3] The song premiered live by surprise as a segment apart from the main presentation, performed by Chris and We Are King. The performers stood facing each other in an enclosed space while lights danced upon their faces, and, at the end of the performance, the camera panned out to reveal that the lights projecting throughout made up a heart shape.^[4]

Lyrics[]

[Intro: All]
Ooh
Ooh

[Verse 1: Chris Martin & Jacob Collier]
Boys, boys don't cry
Boys keep it all inside
I try to hide it underneath
Still my heart starts to beat

[Chorus: Chris Martin & Jacob Collier]
My human heart
Only got a human heart
I wish it didn't run away
I wish it didn't fall apart
Oh, my human heart
Night and day, light and dark
Any day could be torn in half (Ooh)
Only got a human heart

[Verse 2: Paris Strother & Amber Strother]
Girls can make-believe
Girls wear it on their sleeve
Thought I could pretend for trying sake
Still my heart had to break

[Chorus: All]
My human heart
Only got a human heart
I wish it didn't run away
I wish it didn't fall apart
Oh, my human heart
Night and day, light and dark
Any day could be torn in half (Ooh)
Only got a human heart

[Outro: All]
Ooh
Ooh